


The Last Frost

by LeedlingwithRageHappy



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Angst, Drama, Elemental Magic, M/M, Romance, joelay - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2015-05-11
Packaged: 2018-03-20 00:20:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3629664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeedlingwithRageHappy/pseuds/LeedlingwithRageHappy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Having powers of ice and snow is normal for Joel but then a certain Puerto Rican enters the picture to show just how fiery things can get.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Put On Your War Paint

**Author's Note:**

> IT'S FINALLY DONE. FINISHED. IT'S BEEN A LONG YEAR.

For as long as Joel could remember, he always had his powers. In fact, his parents had told him that he had been able to use them since he was a baby and for all they knew, he was born with the abilities just like his grandfather. Over the years, Joel had learned to control his powers and rarely used them unless his emotions got in the way. He was also lucky enough to be hired by his friend and worked in a relatively low stress environment, with only a few select employees to know about his powers. Of course, because of this knowledge, sometimes his powers would be taken advantage of.

“Joel, can you chill this for me?”

“How about making it snow some more so we don’t have to go to work today?”

“Think you can make winter come early this year?”

Joel, being the eternally grateful employee and friend he was, would oblige most of his friends’ requests and in turn, receive extra bonuses at the end of the month or other gifts and favors. In a way, he didn’t really mind because he actually got to use his powers once in a while rather than keep them a secret all the time.

A knock on his office door drew Joel away from his thoughts and he scooted his chair over to open it. 

“Everything okay?”

Joel nodded and shrugged. “Yeah, same old. Why’re you asking, Burnie?”

Clearing his throat, Burnie gestured his head towards the window and Joel followed his look to see a few snowflakes falling. 

“Shit,” Joel cursed himself and closed his eyes to relax. Almost instantly, the snow stopped.

“Gotta stop making it snow during the summer, Joel. People were having a meltdown.”

“Sorry, I got distracted. And look who’s talking.”

Burnie gave a small laugh. “Hey, at least when I ask you to make it snow, it’s actually during the winter.”

Joel rolled his eyes at that and returned the laugh. “So, what brings you to my office today?”

“Oh, yeah,” Burnie shook himself. “New employee is coming in tomorrow and yes, Joel, you have to introduce yourself to him.”

Joel’s mouth that had opened halfway through Burnie’s sentence snapped shut and the man turned tightly to his computer screen.

“As long as you don’t make it snow, you’ll be fine.”

Joel sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Can you please stop hiring new people? It’s hard enough keeping it a secret from the interns as is.”

“Hey, you’re getting better,” Burnie attempted to say lightly and then took a step back when Joel shot a glare at him. “Joel, seriously, the last time…you are better. Really.”

Joel’s mouth twitched and he pushed away the thought that threatened its way into his mind. “You think so?”

Burnie smiled genuinely and nodded. “I know it. You’re going to be fine, Joel.”

Accepting his fate, Joel sank into his seat and gave Burnie a half-smile. “Alright, Burnie. Bring it on.”

With an approving nod, Burnie left Joel’s office and the dark haired man looked out the window, sincerely hoping his friend was right.


	2. Light 'Em Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so the eventful meeting happens

As soon as he got to the office the next day, Joel buried himself into his own space, hoping unimportant paperwork would distract him. He could hear various voices pass by and he did his best to calm himself down though every noise seemed to make him jump miles high. Meeting the new employee shouldn’t have been as difficult as it was, but Joel couldn’t help feeling incredibly nervous. He was never a people person to start and to have to meet every new person that came in became quite tiresome, leaving Joel drained for the rest of the day.

Once things got quiet, Joel peeked his head out and then raced down the stairs to the kitchen. He had forgotten his daily coffee in the midst of his worrying and now the caffeine addiction was too much. Joel was thankful to see a full pot brewed and did his best to just fill up and go.

“Joel!”

The older man winced at the sound of his name, quickly putting on a false smile as he turned around. “Hi, Barbara.”

Barbara laughed and put a hand on her hip. “Come say hi to the new guy!” she waved and Joel reluctantly set his cup down.

Following Barbara around the corner, Joel didn’t expect his mind to react the way it did once he laid eyes on the new employee. 

“Ray, this is Joel. Joel, this is Ray,” Barbara happily introduced and Joel felt butterflies grow in his stomach as he stared at the dark-haired man in front of him. The other man had a leaner frame and a smile that pulled Joel in like he had never seen such an expression before.

“Hi,” Ray said cheerfully, holding his hand out. 

It took Joel a moment to register that Ray was waiting for a handshake before he lifted his own hand. Time seemed to slow down as Joel reached for Ray’s hand and he gulped nervously, hoping his powers would stay inside of him. The first initial touch of their hands caused no reaction and the two men smiled at each other until Joel began to feel a tingling that soon turned into a burning sensation.

“Fuck!”

“Ow!”

Both men snapped their hands back and jumped away, suspiciously glancing at each other and their hands. Joel thought he saw a small flame on his skin before a red stripe began to form across his palm and he could only guess what had happened to Ray. The pain intensified for only a moment before leaving Joel with a faint tingling on his palm.

“Um…are you okay?” Barbara asked quietly.

Joel ran his fingers over his palm and nodded, seeing Ray mimic the same movements. 

“Okay, uh let’s continue on, Ray.” Barbara politely nudged Ray forward and gave Joel a quick, confused look. 

The young man seemed distracted as Barbara led him away, and he gave one last glance over his shoulder at Joel, his stare cold and questioning.

Joel felt the heat rise to his cheeks and his hand began to shake as he tried to comprehend the situation. He couldn’t understand why the handshake had caused so much pain. In any other casual interaction, Joel was able to keep his powers at bay, but this time, something was definitely different. Quickly, turning around, Joel slammed right into another body and blinked from the sudden contact.

“Whoa there, Joel. What’s going on?” Burnie asked, helping the man regain his balance.

“He…burned me,” Joel finally managed out.

Burnie raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms. “Care to speak English?”

“The new kid…” Joel pointed to the stairs that Ray and Barbara had gone up. “That’s it. That must be it. He has powers too.” Joel’s eyes opened wide at this realization and he gripped onto his hair. 

“Okay, slow down there,” Burnie waved, suddenly concerned. “Are you absolutely sure?”

Biting his lip, Joel did his best to think straight and stared at his palm. “I think so. That’s the only way to explain what happened. I remember my grandfather mentioning something like this once.”

Joel sensed a change in the air and looked up at his friend to see a sympathetic look on the man’s face. 

“I’m not really sure what to say, Joel,” Burnie sighed to himself and scratched his head. “Do you think you’ll be okay to work around him? I can’t exactly get rid of him now, but if you absolutely need him to be gone…”

Immediately, Joel wanted to tell Burnie to make Ray go away, but deep down, he felt as if he couldn’t do that to Burnie after all the man did for him. 

Joel reluctantly nodded his head and shoved his hands into his pockets, walking around the other man to get back to his office. “I’ll be fine. I think.”

“Um, Joel?”

Joel looked tiredly back at his friend and saw a familiar stare. “It’s snowing again, isn’t it?”


	3. Room For One More Troubled Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One angry letter later...

Despite his answer to Burnie, Joel avoided Ray as much as he could, only crossing paths with the other man if it was absolutely necessary, and it looked as if Ray was doing the same thing as well. If they were ever caught in the same area as each other, both men would cut conversations or tasks short and race out of the room often causing other collisions in the process. It became so bad that all the employees were getting down right frustrated with it.

“You know, Joel, I really don’t understand why you’re avoiding him. It’s not like yours or his supposedly powers are causing chaos or anything,” Burnie butted in one day.

Joel turned from his computer and sighed. “Yet. You know how I get when I’m emotional. It’s only luck that I can control it when I’m excited. It’s probably true for the kid as well.”

“So don’t get emotional,” Burnie shrugged. “You only need to be his friend, not his spouse.”

Joel raised his eyebrow at this, but said nothing. 

“Look, either you solve this thing on your own or I’ll make sure you will,” Burnie commanded. “Everyone’s getting sick and tired of this crap. Geoff’s taking care of his end, so I expect you to act accordingly.”

Joel bit the inside of his cheek, but nodded shortly to get Burnie to leave him alone. As the door closed, Joel mentally argued that he had no intentions of solving anything and hoped the whole situation would be forgotten entirely.

~

When Joel arrived at the office the next morning, he was confused and suspicious. On his desk lay a small red envelope with his name on it, the bright color making it look as if the object would explode in his face at any moment. However, having nothing better to do, he lazily tore it open and pulled out the message inside. 

_Joel,_

_I realized we may have gotten off on the wrong foot….okay, let’s cut the crap. Geoff told me to ‘interact’ with you, so I hope this is good enough. I don’t know what happened the first day we met each other besides the fact that it was fucking weird. Don’t hurt me again and I won’t hurt you. Deal? Good. Now I’m just making up shit because Geoff is watching me write. Okay, he’s going away now. Let’s just call this good, okay?_

_Ray_

_P.S. Just thought you should know, I blame you for the white stripe that’s across my palm._

Joel’s first thought was that Ray was making everything a hell of a lot easier than everyone else was. At least the kid was on the same page as him. 

When he read over the last line, he couldn’t help but stare at his own palm, still marked by the red stripe. The fact that Ray also had a mark on his hand confirmed for Joel that the younger man had powers like his own. Probably something to do with warmth, however, because when Joel did find himself in the same room as Ray, he felt like the air was stifling and he would die at any moment from heatstroke.

After this thought, Joel’s attitude towards Ray changed more from annoyance to curiosity and it was then he realized he had never met anyone else with powers besides his grandfather. Maybe Burnie was onto something with forming a friendship. 

Joel scowled to himself at this thought, but found himself warming to the idea. At the very most, it could just be an acquaintance between him and Ray and surely that couldn’t hurt the situation.

Giving a reluctant sigh, Joel ran his hands down his face and resolved that he’d at least try to be somewhat nice to Ray. If worse came to worse, he could always just dump a bunch of snow on Ray’s head and leave it at that.


	4. When She Touched Him, He Turned Ruby Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confrontations almost never go the way you had planned them out in your mind

Being nice to Ray proved to be more challenging than Joel thought it would be. Ray was less than willing to even try to be civil to Joel, always ignoring the older man’s hellos and replying with a snarky comment when Joel did try to strike up a conversation.

Frustration grew in Joel’s mind, especially when Geoff would go on and on about how “nice” Ray was. In fact, it took every fiber of Joel’s being to not simply bury Ray with snow whenever they interacted. Despite all this, Joel still found himself making his way back towards Ray and trying to get the younger man to at least lighten up a few notches. 

This continued on for weeks and then finally, Ray pulled Joel to the side, much to the older man’s confusion and, dare he say it, happiness.

“Alright, what the fuck are you doing?” Ray began in a low tone, despite the fact that they were the only two outside of the Rooster Teeth building.

Joel, deciding to play dumb, shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t give me that bullshit.” Joel could practically hear the malice dripping off of Ray’s words and waited for the younger man to continue. “For the past…I don’t know how long, you’ve been acting weirdly nice to me. I thought we were just going to part ways and leave it at that.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Joel replied lazily and a smug grin formed on his face when he was met by a blank stare.

After a few more moments of silence, Ray huffed and threw his arms up. “I-I give up. If all of this is meant to piss me off, you’re doing a great job. Congratulations, Joel Heyman. You’ve won.” 

Ray angrily sidestepped around Joel and the older man panicked. The conversation had not gone in the direction he wanted it to go.

“Wait,” Joel called out and quickened his pace to stand in front of Ray. 

Ray glared at him, but thankfully did not make any movement to brush Joel off.

“You have…powers, don’t you?”

At this, Ray’s eyes widened, but he quickly changed his face back to normal. “What the fuck do you mean by that?”

“Look, I-“ Joel stopped himself and hesitated with continuing his sentence. 

It would be the first time since…was it Michael?-that he would be telling someone face-to-face about his powers and he didn’t know how he felt about revealing that part of himself again. However his desperation to know someone else going through the same inner conflicts prevailed and he swallowed down the tightness in his throat.

“I have powers too,” Joel finally managed out. “Snow and ice and all that. I’m guessing you have something to do with heat?”

Joel noticed Ray look around nervously before the younger man’s eyes turned back to emotionless.

“Fire…actually,” Ray said quietly and looked down at his feet. Ray’s hands fisted up and it looked like all the muscles in younger man’s body were tensing up.

“I won’t tell anyone, you know,” Joel tried to reassure, now feeling a little guilty about bringing up the subject. He knew all too well the consequences of having powers like his own

“Yeah, I know.” It came out almost like a whisper and Joel looked at Ray, concerned, until the younger man shook himself and headed towards the building.

“Can you show me your power?” Joel suddenly blurted out.

Ray turned around slowly and raised his eyebrow at that, but Joel waited, giving the other man a sincere stare.

“Okay, fine,” Ray gave in. Opening his palm, Ray moved his fingers in a curling motion until a small flame formed in the center of his hand, mimicking the movements of a flower in the wind. 

Joel felt his breath tighten and he stared at the flame, wanting to touch it, but as he reached out Ray snapped it away, giving Joel an expectant look. “Your turn.”

Dropping his shoulders, Joel sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Do I have to?”

“I think it’s fair,” Ray responded immediately.

As he sighed again, Joel held out his hand and snapped, causing a small amount of frost to jump in the air and then fall to the ground, melting instantly on the pavement.

“That’s it?”

Joel grimaced and angrily held one hand above the other like he was holding an invisible ball. Snow formed between his hands and Joel threw it at Ray, but instead of being hit by it like Joel expected, the snowball was melted away by a large flame. Seeing a hint of a grin on Ray’s face, Joel felt his competitive side kick back in. 

“Don’t you dare,” Joel tried to say menacingly and he charged at Ray. 

Ray’s smile seemed to widen and the younger man ran off, using cars and the main building to shelter himself from Joel’s snowballs.

“Not so fast!” Joel hollered and soon a mini-battle began to ensue between the two men. 

Hearing commotion outside, Burnie looked out his office window to see Ray jumping into the dumpster as snow smashed into the side of it and then hearing what sounded like Joel letting out a frustrated, yet oddly happy yell. 

“Well, at least they aren’t killing each other,” Burnie sighed and jogged out of his office to keep the interns and other clueless employees away from the windows all while wondering just how he had ended up with not one, but two workers with elemental powers. 

~

After Joel’s confrontation with Ray, things in the office lightened up. Everyone began to notice the new atmosphere and would question the two men about this change, but they would only shrug with a lazy grin. The most anyone saw out of the two men when they did interact was a small wave or chat before the two would go about their business. It was obvious that the two didn’t hate each other anymore, but the other employees still felt like something was missing.

“So, when’s the date?” Burnie asked, leaning against the doorframe of Joel’s office.

“Burnie,” Joel sighed. “I hope one day you speak English to me. Maybe then I wouldn’t dick around so much.”

“Says Caboose,” Burnie chuckled. “But seriously. You and Ray?”

Joel rolled his eyes at this and then realized that Burnie couldn’t really see the eye roll since he was turned away from the office door.

“We’re just…acquaintances,” Joel started and spun around in his chair to face his friend. “I don’t hate Ray, but that doesn’t automatically mean I want to date him. In fact, I kind of never want to.”

“Hmm…,” Burnie mused before Joel cut back in.

“It would be more problems than I need. We don’t want to slit each other’s throats, so that should be good enough.”

Joel saw Burnie’s eyes flicker and he steeled himself, knowing exactly what was on the man’s mind.

“I know it’s been a while,” Joel muttered. “But, I can’t, Burnie. I can’t go through that again.”

“No, I get it,” Burnie was quick to sympathize. “I was just checking, because…I know you’re not entirely made of ice.”

Joel felt a smile threaten its way onto his face at Burnie’s quip and he turned to his friend. “You’re lucky you’re you, otherwise you’d have a face full of snow for that.”

“Love you too, Joel,” Burnie waved as he pushed himself off the doorframe. “Just…don’t completely throw the idea away, okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” was Joel’s hasty reply and he watched out of the corner of his eye as the man walked away. 

He felt a suspicion grow inside of him, but decided to ignore it, as well as pushing back any thoughts of Ray. Just having someone to relate to with powers was more than Joel could ever ask for and he was determined to keep it that way.


	5. Get Them Drunk On Rose Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A seemingly ordinary night that begins to change everything

Joel had told Burnie and himself that he wasn’t going to become close to Ray, which was exactly why he had agreed to go over to Ray’s apartment to play video games on a particular Friday night. Apparently, all of Ray’s friends were too busy that evening and Joel was his only choice left. 

Of course, Joel had suggested single player games, but Ray seemed adamant about playing with someone else and Joel finally gave in just to silence Ray’s pestering. Or so he attempted to convince himself.

One semi-awkward car ride later, Joel found himself entering Ray’s apartment as the younger man practically flung himself through the doorway.

“Home,” Ray sighed happily and dropped his things on the ground, leaving Joel no other option but to trip over them as Ray turned on the lights.

“Oh, sorry,” Ray laughed and kicked the assortment of items to the side as Joel backed into the kitchen. “Welcome to la casa del Ray.” Ray held his arms out with a grin as if he was expecting praise and Joel only looked at him with disinterest. 

“It’s cleaner than I expected,” Joel finally spoke and Ray rolled his eyes.

“Hey, give me some credit. What else am I supposed to do in my free time?”

Joel opened his mouth, but Ray quickly cut back in. “That doesn’t involve sunlight or exercise.”

“Solve world hunger?” Joel shrugged and leaned back into the counter.

Ray laughed and politely motioned for Joel to step to the side so he could get into the cupboards. “Any more comments like that from you and I might not give you the extra beer that’s in my fridge.”

Joel perked up at that and suddenly gave Ray all of his undivided attention. “I thought you didn’t drink.”

“Gavin and Michael left it the last time they were over here. I didn’t feel like getting rid of it because I figured it’d be useful for something…or someone,” Ray shrugged with a grin as he reached up into the open cupboard.

Joel smiled softly to himself and then went to the fridge, eagerly grabbing the first beer he saw. 

“Nothing better than a cold drink,” Joel said quietly as he opened it, only pausing when he saw Ray staring at him. “What?”

“How can you tell?” Ray tried to say without smiling and Joel was tempted to shove him. 

“Why do you complain about the Austin heat?” Joel shot back amusingly as he took a sip from his beer.

“Fair enough,” Ray nodded and dumped several different kinds of chips into the same bowl. “Well, let’s play!” 

With the bowl in one arm and several carbonated drinks in the other, Ray sprinted (in Joel’s mind. God, he felt old.) over to the couch and began setting up his Xbox as Joel made his way over, sitting down on the couch immediately.

“Here,” Ray gently tossed a controller to Joel and the man effortlessly caught it in his hand, much to both men’s surprises. “Ice powers, catching controllers with one hand, is there anything else I should know about you?” Ray grinned.

Joel took another swig from his beer. “I can make some killer pancakes.”

Ray let out a laugh that made a shiver go down Joel’s spine as the younger man plopped down next to him on the couch. “You’ll have to prove it sometime, then.”

Shaking himself, Joel set down his beer and took the controller in both hands, pushing the previous event back in his mind. At that moment, Joel realized he hadn’t felt any stuffiness in the room like there normally was when he was around Ray. Glancing at Ray as the game loaded, Joel saw the other man’s face held a faint hint of red. Worry briefly passed in Joel’s mind and he wondered if Ray was holding back his usual radiance of heat. 

“You don’t have to hold it in, you know,” Joel ventured softly. “I can handle the heat.”

Ray ducked his head and Joel thought he saw him stiffen before the younger man turned his head in his direction.

“It’s okay,” Ray began. “I need the practice anyways.” The young man looked back down at his hands and he toyed with the controller in his hands.

Without a second thought, Joel took the controller from Ray’s hands and set it to the side. “Hold your hands like this.” Joel touched his fingertips together in a meditation like position, waiting for Ray to do the same. “Now, focus all of your power from your core, to your fingertips and back. You should feel a tingling.”  
Joel could see a reluctant look on Ray’s face, but the man sat up and focused on his hands. For a moment, the room became sweltering before it went back to a manageable temperature. Ray let out a huge sigh and blinked slowly.

“Do you feel better?” Joel asked and sat back.

Ray nodded, robot-like, and then softly smiled up at Joel. “Thanks.”

In return, Joel gave a small smile of his own and felt his face grow warm. For the first time since meeting Ray, Joel actually felt concerned about the younger man’s health and how he coped. Joel never thought about how lucky he was to have someone like his grandfather and hoped Ray was fortunate enough to have a similar situation.

“How’d you learn to do that?” Ray asked, shaking Joel from his thoughts.

“Oh…” Joel blinked. “My grandfather. He was the only other one in my family to have powers like mine. He taught me everything.”

Ray let out a small hum and Joel noticed the other man draw into himself. “Must’ve been nice,” Ray mumbled in a way that Joel assumed was to himself and he swallowed, unsure of how to reply.

“Someone must’ve-I mean…” Joel started slowly, wringing his hands to calm down. 

Ray let out a long sigh and tipped his head back onto the couch so he was looking at the ceiling. “I’m not going to give you some depressing story or bullshit like that. What my so-called friends did, well, fuck them. It’s not like my parents were the greatest at handling this either, but at least they didn’t think I was some freak of nature or at least they did a damn good job of hiding their feelings.”

Joel said nothing and at the same time, felt like he couldn’t anyways. He couldn’t possibly begin to empathize with Ray in this situation and it looked like the other man didn’t want any of that either.

Ray craned his neck towards Joel, staring directly at the man. “I’ve got someone like you now so that should count for something.”

Feeling his eyes widen, Joel leaned back as any form of language left his mind and his body tensed up. In his opinion, he was never good with people and now that personality was coming out full force as the younger man looked at him a little while longer and then at the TV screen.

“Guess we should play, huh?” Ray said in a new tone, indicating that the previous conversation was over.

“S-sure,” Joel breathed out and picked up the long-forgotten controller as Ray started a new game.

Sneaking a glance to the side, Joel felt his heart lift as he noticed a change to Ray’s attitude, that didn’t seem like a cover-up, but rather a genuine expression of happiness that Joel hadn’t noticed before. In his mind, Joel felt things were actually going to be okay for now and he finally relaxed against the couch, subtly moving closer to Ray as the game began.


	6. How The Mighty Fall In Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Days turn to weeks and hate turns into something better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, another short chapter, sorry...

Joel wasn’t sure what exactly changed that night, but suddenly, the majority of his phone calls and texts were coming from Ray. Whether it was planning something for the weekend or just casual conversation in general, the two were always talking in some way. 

This did not go without notice and it got so widespread around the office that Burnie had speculated that Joel and Ray were the new best friends of the company. Joel could only laugh at this, but deep down, he knew that Ray had definitely gone from enemy to slightly-annoying-but-still-enjoyable company.

“Joel!”

For example, right now, where Ray was definitely hitting the annoying border.

Joel squeezed his eyes shut before turning around and giving Ray a tired grin. “Hmm?”

“Don’t give me that now, J-Roll,” Ray grinned and Joel practically dropped the papers in his hands out of embarrassment, but for himself or Ray, he wasn’t sure.

“J-Roll?” Joel cringed. “Are you really calling me that now?”

Ray only laughed this off, much to Joel’s chagrin, and shook his head. “If you want lunch, yes.”

Suddenly, Joel felt much more attentive and straightened himself up. All morning, he had tried to find a way to just get out of the Rooster Teeth building, but to no avail. Now that he actually had his chance, he was about to do anything just to get some fresh air. 

“Well, that worked,” Ray grinned, his face glowing with pride. 

In his mind, Joel was playing some rendition of a superhero theme song to go with Ray’s stance and he fished his keys out of his pocket before heading towards the door, discarding the papers on the front desk as he walked by it. He could hear the soft movements of Ray behind him and the two headed out into the Austin sun. 

“Why is it so warm?” Ray groaned and did his best to stick to whatever shade was available in the parking lot. “Can’t you make it rain or something, Joel?”

Now Ray was starting to sound like Burnie and Joel was half-tempted to oblige Ray’s request in some way. “Ice and snow, remember?” Joel replied. “Not sure how the Austin people would feel about a snowstorm in August.”

“But it’s so hot, it’ll just turn into rain,” Ray tried to counter, but Joel was quick to reply.

“The laws of our powers don’t apply to normal weather, Ray,” he sighed as the two got into his car. “If it did, you’d be able to turn down this heat.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ray waved and went to turn on the air conditioning, only to find that it was already at its coldest setting. “Way to channel your inner Alaska.”

Joel thought over this comment as he backed out of his parking space and then squinted. “I don’t….What?”

For some reason unknown to Joel, Ray laughed at this and it made Joel heat up, though not because of the younger man’s powers-unless Ray was a trained professional in making people uncomfortable. As they drove down the road, Joel couldn’t help sneaking glance at Ray, watching as the younger man put his feet up against the dash and place an arm up on the window ledge. It was kind of adorable in Joel’s mind and then he mentally punched himself for that thought. He had told Burnie numerous times that the last thing he needed was to feel any sort of attraction towards Ray. Friendship was okay, but beyond that was trouble for many reasons.

Joel’s thoughts drifted on and it was in that moment that he had no idea where he was driving to. “Did we pick somewhere to go or are we just driving?”

“I was just about to ask that,” Ray chuckled and turned to Joel. “You decide. I trust your judgment.” 

This time, Joel’s stomach fluttered and he almost let out a growl of frustration before taking a quick turn towards a restaurant. After seeing the sign, Joel thanked whatever deity was watching over him because it just so happened to be one of his favorite places to eat. 

“Solid choice,” Ray grinned and jumped out of the car once it was parked.

Joel was honestly surprised when Ray waited for him and even opened the door to the place to let Joel enter first, but then again, he did have the name of Good Guy Ray and Joel rolled his eyes with this thought.

“What did I do now?” Ray joked as they sat down at a booth and Joel cracked his first smile of the day.

He thought of making a witty comment, but instead just shrugged, leaving Ray in a state of amused confusion. After a few moments of silence, Ray shook his head with a chuckle and took to looking at the menu, an action that Joel quickly followed as well. 

As they stared at their menus, Joel couldn’t help glancing up at Ray once in a while and thinking to himself how he ended up with such good luck.


	7. Don't Panic, No, Not Yet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joel and Ray have a night they'll never forget

Soon, Joel found himself going out to eat with Ray at least once a week on top of spending time with the other man in general. It became habit for both of them that they found themselves declining other plans in order to not have to reschedule the ones they already had with each other. 

In this time, Joel opened himself a little more to Ray and found the younger man doing the same and he wondered where this was all going. If it was headed in the direction Burnie seemed to think it was, Joel felt his heart lift and sink all at once. It was a roller coaster of emotions that worried Joel to no end, even after Burnie’s reassurances.

Wanting to distract himself from the unwelcome thoughts, Joel quickly dove into his work, immersing himself so completely that hours passed by like minutes, leaving Joel in a satisfied state of production. He became so focused that he didn’t notice the door to his office open and let in a certain Puerto Rican. 

“Joooeeelll,” Ray said close to his ear and Joel jumped slightly before doing his best to air-swat the younger man away.

“Please don’t tell me you’re planning on copying Barbara and Burnie now,” Joel groaned and turned in his chair to look at Ray. “What’re you doing up here before lunch time?”

“Do you know what tonight is?” the younger man’s eyes shone with so much excitement that Joel was just waiting for Ray to dance around the room.

Shaking his head no, Joel watched with amusement as Ray’s smile widened.

“Dude, it’s the lunar eclipse! That means both of our powers will be enhanced. We should go out somewhere and make the most of it!”

Joel immediately wanted to punch himself in the face. Of course it was the eclipse. He kept track of the eclipses all his life for safety reasons and he wondered how it had slipped his mind. His sudden onset of agitation should’ve been indication too. Joel had to admit he was a little envious that Ray seemed to be getting positive energy from the oncoming event where he just felt like any little thing could set him off in an angry rant.

“Come on, Joel! It’ll be fun!”

“I thought you hated spending time away from home,” Joel sighed, hoping to calm down Ray’s jittery excitement.

Unfortunately for the older man, Ray was not deterred and scooted back in closer to Joel. “Not in this case. Please, J-Roll?”

Joel blinked at the younger man before him, at this moment not really believing that Ray was 25 as puppy eyes stared back at him, and he quickly ran the pros and cons through his head. On the one hand, a late night when he had hoped to get to bed early for once, but then the thought of spending time with Ray seemed to win him over.

“Fine,” Joel finally gave in and smiled internally when Ray’s face lit up.

“Oh, man, you’re the best! I’d high-five you or something, but you know.” 

Joel raised his eyebrows slightly and nodded, expecting Ray to burst into flames at any moment. 

“Whoops, lunch break is over. Gotta run!” Ray sprinted off before Joel could even get in a single word and the older man found himself staring in the direction Ray ran with an open mouth. 

Regaining his composure, Joel shook his head with a laugh and turned back to his computer. How he managed to put up with Ray’s antics, he would never know, but the prospect of experiencing the lunar eclipse with another seemed to forego all else and Joel couldn’t wait for work to be over.

~

“Hold…on…,” Joel gasped out and grabbed onto a nearby rock, feeling like he was going to collapse at any minute.

Though the idea of spending time with Ray sounded fun, the younger man forgot to mention that they would be climbing a mountain in order to see the eclipse.

“Tired already?” Ray grinned and Joel stuck up his middle finger at him.

“Says the guy who never goes outside,” Joel said between breaths. “You never said anything about rock climbing.”

Ray sheepishly smiled with a shrug and scaled back down a bit to lessen the gap between them. “This is the only time I’m like this, I promise.”

“I hope so.”

This got a scoff out of Ray, but both men knew they were joking and Joel gratefully followed Ray’s lead again as they both climbed up together at a much more reasonable pace. 

“We’re here!” Ray announced.

Joel looked up to see Ray standing and he pushed himself the last few feet to get up next to him. In a way, he was embarrassed by how close they actually were to the top and that he had given up so close to the end. 

As soon as he got up next to Ray, Joel nearly lost his breath again with the view. Despite the flat areas that surrounded Austin, Ray had managed to find a spot where it seemed like mountains were rising all around them. “Where on earth did you find this place?”

“Michael and I did some exploring,” Ray began. “He was my first real friend to find out about my power and since then…he’s helped me in more ways than I can count.”

Joel then remembered when he had first revealed his powers to Michael and finally understood why the Jersey man hadn’t been as surprised as others at the company. At the time, Joel had thought Michael just didn’t care, but now he was seeing a whole new side to the man. 

“In fact, you remember that letter I wrote you the first few days of knowing each other? That was more Michael than Geoff pushing me to write it,” Ray shrugged and plopped down on the rocky platform. 

“That…explains a lot,” Joel said quietly and followed Ray’s lead of sitting down. 

Already, the moon was high in the night sky and the indications of the eclipse were just beginning. The two men sat in silence and watched the moon, though Joel found himself occasionally glancing to the side to see Ray’s look of awe and happiness. It made Joel feel warm inside and he scooted closer to Ray, which the younger man seemed more than aware of but didn’t mind, or at least Joel hoped he didn’t.

After a fair amount of time of just sitting with each other, the eclipse was finally at its peak and Joel heard Ray let out a contented sigh. The younger man stood up and held a hand towards the sky, letting a huge flame shoot up. Snapping his hand back down, Ray looked at Joel, who was still on the ground, and smiled.

“Come on, Joel. No one will see it. You can actually use your power and do whatever you want!”

Joel could see how happy Ray was and didn’t want to bring the younger man’s attitude down, so he stood up and let a small amount of snowflakes fly in the air.

“Is that all?”

Remembering back to the first reveal of their powers, Joel held back his grin and watched with a smug expression when a pile of snow smashed on top on Ray’s head. The younger man let out a yelp as snow slid down his shirt and he hopped around trying to get the snow off his body.

“You dick!” Ray laughed and Joel finally joined in the laughter as well. 

Eventually, the two made a game of their powers that seemed like an odd game of catch since the snow and fire seemed to carefully evade the two men respectively. It became a little lackadaisical in Joel’s mind and that’s when he noticed the snow and fire shooting up higher into the sky, like lasers from a light show. Ray grinned at Joel and the other man couldn’t help smiling back as they manipulated their powers so the elements could flow alongside each other.

The show of fire and snow continued on for what seemed like hours and Joel glanced at Ray, feeling his heart swell immediately. The look on Ray’s face was absolutely beautiful and Joel found himself realizing that maybe he could still fall in love after all. Ray had given Joel a new sense of hope, that the impossible could be achieved, and Joel was about to do anything to keep that in his life. Manipulating his snow to make Ray’s flame change, he watched as Ray’s expression changed from confusion and then to shocked happiness. A heart, half made of snow and the other out of flame swirled in the sky above them and Ray let out a disbelieving laugh.

“Really?” his voice cracked and he looked at Joel with shining eyes.

Joel smiled and nodded, wanting nothing more than to reach out and pull Ray in for a hug. As if reading his mind, Ray held his hand out, palm facing Joel and Joel hesitantly lifted his hand to come close to Ray’s. He stopped his hand just before Ray’s and the two watched as a small mix of snow and fire danced in the space between their palms. 

“Thank you, Ray,” Joel whispered, entranced by the way his and Ray’s power flowed together. “Thank you for helping me.”

Ray swallowed and his fingers quivered slightly. “I should be the one thanking you.” Meeting Joel’s eyes, Ray gave Joel a look the older man hadn’t seen in a very long time. “I love you, Joel.”

For a moment, Joel felt himself stop breathing before he responded. “I love you too.” 

The two men stepped closer and rain began to form as Ray’s flames melted Joel’s snow in the sky. However, the powers between their hands remained prominent as ever and the two men smiled at each other as the rain poured down on them.


	8. Don't Take Love Off The Table Yet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after isn't what Joel was expecting, but maybe it was everything he hoped for

“OH. MY. GOD.” 

Joel winced as Barbara’s voice got higher with each word and he regretted letting her know about the night before, but it was either that or constant pestering from the woman.

Another squeal of delight made Joel want to barricade himself under his desk, but Barbara was not about to let him escape that easily.

“What about Burnie? Does he know? It’s official now, right?”

“One question at a time, Barbara,” Joel mumbled as he put his face in his hands. “No, he doesn’t know yet. It was only last night for Christ’s sake.”

“This is the best news ever! I told Miles you two were-Ha! Now he owes me lunch!” Barbara continued on as if Joel’s words were going through one ear and out the other, leaving Joel to contemplate all of his life’s choices in that moment. He was tempted to throw snow on the woman just to make her stop blabbering, but the last thing he needed was an angry Barbara, the only thing worse than her personality at this moment.

“Barbara, please stop,” Joel mumbled through his hands and dragged them down his face. “This is not a soap opera.”

“What are you saying?? This is romantic as hell!! I can’t wait to tell Lindsay and Ashley and-“

Barbara’s words stopped immediately when Joel glared at her and she laughed nervously. “I mean…this is only between us?”

“Much better,” Joel nodded and drank deeply from his coffee.

Unfortunately, he and Ray had stayed out much later than expected, leading to him having to crash on the young man’s couch and the two coming into work on a rather awkward note. Now, all Joel wanted to do was sleep and hide away in his office. With another giggle, Barbara skipped out of Joel’s office, leaving the man to stare at the door blankly as if he had just witnessed a hit-and-run. After a few moments of staring, Joel shook himself and went back to work only to jump out of his chair when the door burst open and a shocked Burnie stood in the doorway.

“You didn’t!” Burnie gaped.

Joel made a mental note to kill Barbara later and contemplated hiding behind the curtains. “Didn’t what?” he mumbled and hid his face behind his hand.  
A smile grew on Burnie’s face and he ran over to Joel, grabbing the man’s arms and turning Joel towards him. “I’m so proud of you,” Burnie gushed and then hugged Joel tightly.

“Uh…I…what?” Joel’s arms were pinned to his sides and he knew there was no option of wiggling out of his friend’s hold.

“You and Ray. It’s going to be great, Joel. Don’t worry about a thing,” Burnie said in a warm tone and pulled away from the hug to look Joel in the face. For the first time in a while, Joel saw the honesty and sincerity in Burnie’s eyes and he felt overwhelmed. Maybe this was meant to be or maybe he was finally over what had happened years ago. The emotions filled up his entire being and he returned the hug, though careful to keep his hands at a distance just in case his emotions got the best of him.

“Man, we’re going to have to improve your handless hugs,” Burnie joked.

Joel could only smile in response, feeling an overwhelming sense of love and acceptance that seemed to have been missing for so long. Burnie started babbling on about Joel and Ray’s relationship with Joel nodding in response when needed, but his mind far away with the images of Ray sweeping through every thought.


	9. Before It Has Begun, We've Already Won

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joel and Ray decide to take things a step further

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a super short segment, but it didn't really fit with chapter 8, which is why I made it its own part :P

After a few months into the relationship Joel and Ray found themselves spending more time at each other’s homes than their own. The decision to move in together was swift and it now found them on a movie night saved specially for the weekends.

“You know, we haven’t touched each other since the first day we met,” Ray noted as he and Joel sat on the couch, close, but still a distance away from each other. 

Joel drew his attention away from the TV and looked at the younger man with concern. “Should we even risk it?”

“What do you mean?”

Joel sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “You know how our powers are when we get emotional and…”

“I’m willing to give it a try,” Ray cut in and looked down at his hands. “I’ve always kept myself away from people I cared about because I was afraid…but with you, I don’t feel scared anymore.”

Joel swallowed, thinking over Ray’s words and understanding all too well what the other man meant. However, Joel’s mind was filled doubt and nervousness. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t even register when a hand was placed on top of his own.

“So far, so good,” Ray breathed out and Joel suddenly froze in place, too scared to move in case that brought out his powers. 

He watched the other man as Ray ran his fingers along Joel’s hand and he couldn’t help but think about how nice the touch felt. Suddenly, Joel’s breath caught in his throat and his mind was screaming as Ray started to lean in. The younger man stopped just before their noses could touch and Joel could feel a mixture of cold and hot air mixing as the two nervously held their positions. Before Joel could voice any protest, Ray’s lips met his own and Joel felt as if a snowstorm was raging inside of his body. When Joel realized that neither of their powers were being released, he reached up and grabbed Ray’s face, deepening the kiss, which in turn caused the younger man to fall into him. Eventually, the two pulled back for air and Joel couldn’t help but shiver when he felt Ray’s breath on him. 

“Fuck, I’ve wanted this for so long,” Ray whispered and Joel slowly met Ray’s gaze. 

He saw the passionate, hungry look behind the younger’s eyes and felt the need grow inside of himself as well. Without a second thought, Joel shot up from the couch, dragging Ray along with him to the bedroom. The next step was one Joel had never taken and he hesitated, but when Ray suddenly took control and shoved the older man down on the bed, any previous doubts disappeared. It wasn’t long before the two became caught up in passionate embraces that kept both warm until the morning hours.


	10. One More Off-Key Anthem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joel's memories get the best of him

As the days turned shorter and fall was moving in, Joel and Ray’s relationship flourished. Everyone agreed it was the happiest they had seen either men and there was even rumors of proposals. Joel was indeed happy with Ray, in fact, he wouldn’t have traded the other man for anything, but the fall reminded Joel too much of the past. Not wanting to bring down Ray with him, Joel began to hide into himself and telling Ray everything was okay whenever the young man asked. When the first leaf fell, Joel became an absolute mess and couldn’t understand just how Ray managed to put up with him and stay by his side.

On a particular chilly morning, Joel barricaded himself in his office as soon as he arrived, feeling the need to break down becoming stronger and stronger. No one dared knock on the office door until it was afternoon and Joel still hadn’t emerged from his office.

“Joel?” a soft knocking came and the door opened before Joel could say any words of protest. Burnie slowly stepped in and he stared at Joel worriedly.

“Not now, Burnie, please,” Joel nearly begged, keeping his head in his hands.

He could hear Burnie shift around and then the other man spoke. “I just wanted to say that you can go home early if you want. I know today’s a bad day and if you even need the entire week off, just let me know.”

The door to Joel’s office closed again and the man squeezed his eyes shut. It was a stupid idea to come into work today, but after ten years, he thought he would’ve been able to function like a normal human being after what had happened. Instead, it tore him on the inside and he just wanted to curl into himself and forget everything.

Then, another knock shook Joel from his thoughts and he gritted his teeth. “Whoever it is, please go away.”

The door opened anyways and Joel opened his eyes to see Ray poke his head in. “Are you okay, Joel?”

Joel sighed and dropped his hands, not in the mood to explain why he was so irritable on this day. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Ray slid into the office and closed the door behind him, giving Joel a concerned look. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No, no,” Joel said quickly and put on his best acting face. “I’ll be okay. Just tired is all.”

Ray chewed on his lip and Joel saw him wanting to press on, but knowing that he was also tugging the older man’s strings.

“Let me do something,” Ray began, but Joel immediately shut him down.

“Ray, I said I’ll be fine. Just go back to work.” When Ray didn’t move, Joel just gave him a look and shook his head with a sigh. “I’ll explain to you later.”

“That’s what you always say.”

“Excuse me?”

“Every time something’s bothering you, and I know it is, you shut up,” Ray pointed. “We’ve been dating for months and I feel like I still don’t know as much about you as you do about me. Why do you hide from me, Joel?”

Joel felt his heart beat faster and he clenched his hands into fists. “I’m not hiding-“

“But you’re afraid. I can see it.”

A tingling began in Joel’s hands and he shoved them under his desk. His control was slipping quickly and he just wanted Ray to leave. “You should go.”

“Joel, just let me help you.” Ray was now desperate, but it just seemed to agitate Joel even more. “You don’t have to go through whatever it is you’re going through alone.”

“Ray…” Joel knew his power was building up and if Ray didn’t leave soon, it would come out full force.

“Please,” Ray begged and then Joel snapped.

“I said, leave!”

Icicles shot up from the floor in front of Ray as Joel’s hand shot out and Ray stared at the man, wide-eyed and scared. Joel’s mind went into a panic and he could only match Ray’s expression as he stood frozen on the spot.

“Ray, I-“

The younger man took a step back and Joel watched as Ray’s expression changed from shock to an anger that Joel had never known possible in a human being. 

Wordlessly, Ray shook his head and backed up slowly, his glare piercing Joel’s inner soul, and Joel could only stay where he was, terrified of moving. Just as it looked like Ray was about to say something, he ran out of the room and Joel finally felt his body listen to his mind. He tried to run after Ray, but the icicles had formed a tight barrier that he was forced to nearly body-slam against them in order to leave his office. He raced to the AH office and just barely caught a glimpse of Michael and Ray leaving the building.

“Ray, wait!” Joel called out and pushed himself to the limit, chasing after them, but it was too late.

Michael zoomed out of the parking lot with Ray burying his face in his hands as they drove off, leaving Joel in a state of desperation and anguish. Feeling himself about to collapse, Joel stumbled backwards until he felt the sidewalk at the back of his ankles and he slowly sank down. Every worst possibility shot into Joel’s mind and he clenched his hair in his hands, not letting go even when he felt a hand on his shoulder and a person sit next to him.

“Joel?” It was Burnie, but after what had just happened, Joel didn’t want to see anyone and he made an ultimate decision then and there.

“Fuck. I fucked up, Burnie,” Joel sighed and shook his head. “I can’t stay.”

“That’s okay, Joel. I saw your office. Just see him tomorrow and-“

“No, I mean, I can’t stay in Texas.”

Burnie blinked and then looked at Joel like he lost his mind. “What? Are you crazy?”

“I nearly killed him,” Joel hissed out. “He won’t want to see me ever again, everyone will think I’m some madman and-no. I need to leave.”

Leaning back, Burnie continued staring at Joel, but the other man simply stood up and looked around the parking lot, cursing as snow began to fall from the sky. “This happened with Emily too, even worse than this. God, it’s no wonder she left me at the alter. Ray will be better off without me.”

“Joel,” Burnie grabbed him arm and held him back. “Stop comparing everything to Emily. You hid your powers from her. I don’t know how the hell you did, but this isn’t the same. Ray’s different and I just told you he’ll be fine. What more do you need?”

“You don’t understand, Burnie!” Joel began to shout. “If you saw the look he gave me you’d know that everything isn’t okay!”

“Whoa, Joel-“ Burnie tried to calm him down and stood up to hold the man in place as the snow fell down even harder.

Ripping himself from his friend’s grasp, Joel shook his head and clenched his fists. “Thanks for everything you’ve done, Burnie. You’ll know where to find me.”

Without giving his friend a second glance, Joel ran off to his car, ignoring the following footsteps. Burnie pounded on the window, shouting at Joel, but it all turned to mush as Joel backed out of his parking space, only looking at his friend to make sure he wouldn’t run the man over. Giving a final shake of his head, Joel sped away and glanced up in the rearview mirror to see his best friend and the building he loved fade away in the falling snow he couldn’t stop.


	11. You Are What You Love, Not Who Loves you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joel deals with the aftermath and something more

Joel let out a puff of air and watched it swirl with the snow as he made his way down the dirt road. At least where he was now, his powers wouldn’t be noticed and he could use them to whatever lengths he pleased. Joel knew he should’ve felt ecstatic, but instead, guilt filled his mind. He had almost killed Ray and probably lost the trust of so many people at the company. It was all for the best that he went away.

The small house he had rented was soon in sight and he hurried his way over, thankful that some of the fire was still going when he stepped inside. Looking over the room, he was saddened by how empty it felt and tried to shove away the need for Ray.

Joel had moved away as soon as he could, finding himself lucky enough to have gotten the exact house and location he needed in such a short amount of time in a northern region. Burnie had done everything to protest Joel’s departure, but there was no getting past the man’s stubbornness. Joel had even gone as far to change his phone number just to get Burnie off his back. 

He didn’t say goodbye to anyone before he left, figuring no one would ever want to see him again and especially not to Ray, who he now hadn’t seen in weeks. That said it all for Joel. He had already tested fate by even forging a friendship with Ray in the first place, but in the end, Joel realized he had been playing a losing game all along.

Looking out the window, Joel could feel himself glare at the falling snowflakes as the anger, sorrow, and regrets filled up inside of him. The walls felt as if they were shrinking in and he rushed over to the window, gripping the sill tightly. Despite the isolation, Joel didn’t feel as if he was safe enough and he held out his hand to the window, exhaling as icicles appeared from the ground and then shot upwards to form a barrier surrounding all sides of his home. A large cracking sound echoed above him and he stared momentarily at the ceiling in concern before feeling a state of relief. 

He was now the master of his own domain, free to live and never harming anyone again. Joel did his best to keep his pride high, but a sudden pang of heartbreak entered his body and before he could stop himself, Joel broke down into tears.

~

Joel awoke to a loud thudding from the first floor and his first reaction was confusion, not only to the noise but to his whereabouts as well. As the thudding continued, the memories slowly returned to Joel’s mind and he swore, wishing he was still asleep and without pain. He crawled out of bed, glaring at his bedroom door as if that was causing the noise, and quickly pulled on some clothes to investigate. As he made his way down the stairs, Joel realized it was the front door and he suddenly became fearful that someone had found him. Frozen on the spot, he stared at the entrance, thinking of outrageous possibilities, before finally summoning up the courage to open the door. 

What greeted him was the last thing Joel expected to see. On his doorstep stood Ray, with a tunnel through the icicles behind him. The man was bundled in so many layers that it took Joel a moment to realize who it was before focusing on the telltale glasses. 

The two stood, staring each other down as every emotion seemed to fill the room and suffocate Joel, until he found his voice.

“How…did you find me?” Joel asked quietly and kept his distance from the doorway.

Ray sighed and took that as his invitation to enter as he stepped into the room. “With the help of Burnie taking a wild guess and Barbara constantly pestering him. Plus, once I got here, your ice barrier wasn’t that difficult to melt through.”

At Ray’s movement to get inside, Joel backed away as much as he could and silently cursed himself when Ray fully entered the house, shutting the door behind him. 

“Nice place you got,” Ray said quietly and Joel could only nod in response. 

Taking off his coat and other winter layers, Ray settled in near the fire all while Joel stood like a decoration in the room. 

“I won’t bite,” Ray tried to smile. “And it’s not like I’m going to try burning you or anything.”

Joel looked down at his feet and felt immediate shame for what had happened between him and Ray. In a way, he wasn’t sure what was worse now, the icicles or the lack of contact, the feeling of Ray. Opening his mouth, Joel decided to just start talking and hoped his words would lead him in the right direction.

“I’m sorry for what I did. I didn’t mean to shut myself away, I didn’t mean to attack you like that. I was so afraid. Afraid of hurting you and afraid of losing you.”

“You just overreacted,” Ray gently cut in. “I should be the one apologizing. I left you hanging and I let you think I was upset with you. I wasn’t, I just didn’t know what to think at first and once Michael talked some sense into me, I realized I had treated you wrong. I should’ve found you right away to tell you that everything was okay.”

The two men’s gazes met and Joel felt his breath taken away to see Ray’s warm eyes staring right back at him. It was a feeling he had been missing for so long and now that it was back, his mind turned into chaos.

It was all too much and Joel finally gave in to his troubled thoughts. “I can’t control myself when I’m emotional. How do I know that the next time, I won’t kill you? Or you won’t kill me? I’d rather see you happy with somebody else than worrying that there won’t be a next time and-“

“Joel.”

Stopping himself, Joel finally looked to see Ray standing in front of him and he waited for something, a slap, harsh words, anything. Instead, Joel felt his face being pulled down and lips crashing against his own. Joel’s body began to fill with power and the man tried to pull back, but Ray’s hands remained firm on Joel’s face. Joel felt as if he would explode at any minute but the feeling suddenly vanished and Joel stumbled back as Ray let go of his face.

“See? I’m fine. We’re both fine. We don’t need to hide anymore, Joel,” Ray grabbed Joel’s hands and even though there was a small tingling, Ray wasn’t shot back by ice and Joel wasn’t burnt to a crisp. 

“We’ve been afraid for so long and maybe that’s why we ended up hurting people we loved.” Ray’s voice shook, but he kept a firm grip on Joel’s hands. “I’m not going to make up bullshit and say we’ll never hurt each other again. We will, Joel. I mean, it’s just how things are…but at the end of the day, we’ll still love each other and that’s all that matters.”

At first, Joel didn’t want to listen to Ray’s words. He still couldn’t come to terms with the fact that he nearly killed the one person who managed to reach through to him. Then, he felt the warmth leave his hands and a pair of arms wrapped around his waist. Ray buried his face into Joel’s chest and squeezed tightly.

“I love you, Joel,” Ray mumbled. “When you left, I thought I had lost you forever. I don’t want that again.”

Joel felt himself weaken at those words and he hesitantly returned Ray’s embrace. Then, his mind filled with all his regrets and loneliness, causing Joel to tighten the hug. He held onto the younger man as if it were there last moment on earth. 

“I’m sorry,” Joel said as his voice cracked. “I’m so, so sorry.” Tears were falling from the older man’s eyes and he wanted nothing more than to rewind time to before everything had fallen apart.

Ray was quick to comfort Joel and he pulled back, making the man look him in the eyes. “Hey, we’re-we’re going to be okay,” Ray whispered with intent. 

Joel nodded and wiped away his tears, feeling slightly foolish for breaking down but Ray kept his arms around Joel, letting the older man know he wasn’t going away any time soon.

“How about we spend some more time here? Make it like a vacation. Then we can go back to Texas,” Ray quietly suggested. There was a hint of nervousness in his voice and Joel put his hand under Ray’s chin to make the younger look at him.

“I think that can be arranged.”

Butterflies filled his stomach as Ray’s deep brown eyes stared into his own and Joel swallowed down the lump in his throat. “God, I missed you.”

Ray blushed, but replied with his own small, “I missed you too,” before straightening up and putting his hands on Joel’s shoulders.

“Let’s try this again,” Ray grinned. “Second time around can’t be as bad can it?”

This made Joel finally let out a smile and he nodded in agreement. “Technically third time. Or is it the fourth?”

Ray let out a loud laugh and quickly recovered himself. “Trying to one up me again, huh, Heyman?”

“You know it,” Joel smiled back and suddenly, everything felt right in the world. Hearing Ray’s laugh was like a breath of fresh air, returning Joel’s strength in both body and mind. Taking Ray’s hand, Joel led the younger near the fire and couch to sit them down before he wrapped Ray up in his arms. 

As the two sat contently in silence, Joel felt Ray shift and then look up at the older man.

“Think you could do one last thing?” Ray asked quietly, but with a hint of slyness in his voice.

Quirking his eyebrow, Joel held back an exaggerated sigh and replied with a, “What is it?”

Excitement seemed to fill Ray’s eyes as he turned his gaze towards the window. “How about getting rid of the icicles and making it snow?”

Letting out a small laugh, Joel ran his hand over his mouth before concentrating on the pane of glass. The icicles started to shrink and then, Joel felt a rush of energy before they shattered, causing the two men to jump. However, there was little time to recover as a heavy, but pleasant snowfall began outside. Breathing out, Joel glanced over at Ray and held himself back from tackling the younger, who looked as if it were his first time seeing snow. Instead, Joel leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Ray’s forehead, an embrace that lasted much longer as Ray pressed into the touch. Giving each other one last stare filled with more love than both could imagine, the two men fell back against the couch and tangled themselves up in the other’s arms to watch the falling snow. 

In the warmth of Ray’s arms, Joel’s thoughts began to stray and he couldn’t help but be grateful for the gift he had been given for the first time in his life. If it had not been for his powers, perhaps he and Ray wouldn’t have crossed paths and be where they were now. Despite the hardships that occurred, the older man found himself not wanting to take anything back. He had been given a second chance to find companionship, to make things right, and as Ray curled up closer to him, Joel finally felt free.


End file.
